Ahead of the IPL 2026 season, Virat Kohli named the all-time best playing XI of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). Surprisingly, the batting icon picked only one name from the existing squad of the team.
Virat Kohli faced a very challenging situation when he was asked to name the all-time eleven for the IPL 2025 winners. There was no surprise when he named his two former teammates Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers. The trio, to date, has shared a strong bond between them.
Only 1 player from the present set-up in Virat Kohli’s all-time RCB XI
For the opening two slots, Virat Kohli chose himself and the ‘Universal Boss’ Chris Gayle. The opening combination of Kohli and Gayle is considered one of the most dangerous opening pairs the league has ever seen.
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For the number three position, the star Indian batter named the former South Africa international batter AB de Villiers, who was famously known for executing creative shots all around the park. For the fourth and fifth positions, Virat went for KL Rahul and Rajat Patidar.
“He played extremely well for us. And he is one of the best talents we ever had”, Kohli said about Rajat Patidar in the video.
Rajat Patidar is the only cricketer from the current RCB squad to find a place in Virat’s all-time playing XI. Patidar guided the Royal Challengers Bengaluru to their maiden IPL title in the 2025 season as the captain of the team.
The number 4 batter of Virat’s favorite combination, it is KL Rahul, who will play for the Delhi Capitals in the upcoming Indian Premier League season. The versatile cricketer played for the Bengaluru-based franchise on two separate occasions. His first stint with the franchise was during the 2013 season; his second was in 2016.
For the sixth batting position, it is the former Indian keeper-batter Dinesh Karthik, who shares a very close bond with the franchise. Behind the team’s success in the IPL 2025 season, Karthik played a vital role as the mentor of the team. In his presence, the batters got a good amount of help as well.
Harshal Patel makes a surprising entry
Harshal Patel is a surprising entry in the playing combination. Patel is not among the top talents who played for the Red and Black team. But still, Virat has faith in his all-around abilities. Along with seaming the ball, Harshal Patel can add a significant amount of runs with the bat as well. The pace bowling all-rounder played for the team during two distinct stints: first from 2012 to 2017, and later from 2021 to 2023.
Legendary Anil Kumble and Yuzvendra Chahal are the two spinners in the special playing XI. And for the pace bowling duties, Kohli voted for South African legend Dale Steyn and Australia star Mitchell Starc.
Top-order 💀💀💀
Middle-order 👊👊👊👊
Pace attack ❤️🔥❤️🔥
Spin-twins 🌪🌪Find out who breaks into King Kohli’s all-time RCB XI 👀
This is @bigbasket_com presents RCB Bold Diaries. 📹
PS: This video was recorded at the start of the IPL 2025 season. #PlayBold #ನಮ್ಮRCB pic.twitter.com/6uVeCFjegR
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) March 16, 2026
Virat Kohli’s all-time RCB playing XI:
Openers: Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli.
Middle-Order: AB de Villiers, KL Rahul, Rajat Patidar, Dinesh Karthik.
All-rounder: Harshal Patel.
Bowlers: Anil Kumble, Mitchell Starc, Dale Steyn, Yuzvendra Chahal.
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